//------------------------------//
// The Payment For The Star's Demand 
// Story: Darker Than Purple 
// by Arkybrony 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle was disoriented by the whole occurrence of the stars disappearing and her getting shot by a magic beam, so she wanted to just go to sleep and think it through the next day. As she got into bed, she looked out the window and noticed something. A star. She looked at it to make sure it was real, and as she was doing this, another one appeared. Out of this other one, she could see a thin light like a laser shooting towards a cloud. 

Suddenly, she heard a sound. A creaking sound. She slowly got out of bed to inspect it. She eventually ended up in her kitchen. With all the lights turned off, she turned on her horn magic as a light source. Right when she did that, the lights went on, frightening her. Out of this sudden fear, she attacked the source of the sound with magic.

"Ow!" Spike said as he was hit with the bolt of electricity, "I was just getting some water."

"Sorry, Spike. I thought you were evil or something."

"Giggle at the ghostie, Twilight. Just keep calm and giggle on. Say, is that some new kind of magic you learned?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well usually it's just your horn that lights up when you do magic like that. Your whole body glowed this time."

"What? That only happens when the Elements of Harmony are used! Spike, are you lying to me?"

"Why would I do that on a night like this. I lie sometimes, but not on a night when the stars have disappeared and you've become all paranoid."

"So my whole body glowed when I shot you with a bolt of magic?"

"Yup. But it didn't really feel like magic. More like electricity."

"Electricity? It's impossible to use raw electricity like that!"

"Hey, I calls it like I sees it."

Dropping the conversation, Twilight walked toward her counter and grabbed a knife. She slightly cut herself with it. She winced in pain and immediately applied pressure to her wound.

"What the?" Spike said, "Why the heck did you just do that?"

"I. I don't know. I couldn't help it. It was like I was forced to."

"Seriously, Twilight, you need to go to sleep."

"I know. I'll do it once I seal this up. Goodnight, Spike."

"G'night."

Spike left and Twilight used conventional magic to seal the wound up. She went upstairs and went to bed, watching new stars appear in the night sky. 





A detective entered Celestia's room as she continued to create stars, and contractors.

"Princess, we found this letter addressed to you lying in the hallway. It's from Princess Twilight Sparkle. That is all."

The detective gave Celestia the letter and left. Celestia took a glance at the letter and immediately closed it up.

"Everyone out!" She said, "Now!"

All the guards in the room left suspiciously, closing the door behind them.

When she was sure everyone was out of the room, she opened the letter again and read it. When she read the part about the thin beam of magic shooting Twilight, she was shocked and slightly embarrassed at the fact that it was kind of her fault that this happened, but she had to get to business. She knew exactly what had happened. Twilight Sparkle had become a contractor. Celestia wrote a reply.

"Twilight Sparkle,
Equestria has changed forever.
A little over a thousand years ago, the Crystal Empire existed under a mysterious phenomenon known as Heaven's Gate. Every area inside this Gate experienced joy and happiness, but when it disappeared, the joy and happiness went away, and some ponies, including Luna and King Sombra, went mad. Because of their madness, they, along with everypony inside the gate, disappeared for a thousand years.  All because Heaven's Gate disappeared. When Luna was banished, her night went with her. The only natural light of the night that stayed was the Moon. Thus, there was a Starless Night. Because the night sky was gone, I had to create new stars. Each star I created was a ball of raw magic in the sky. Sadly, with each new star came a price. Each star shot a random pony with a thin beam of raw, powerful magic, which made them contractors. Contractors are ponies with special powers that even I can't master without the Elements of Harmony. However, when they use their powers, they must pay a price that their body and mind forces them to do. Some would have to smoke, some would have to just to jumping jacks, some would have to cut themselves, and some even had to break their own bones. There were more prices than those, but I won't get into that. The stars also made dolls. Dolls are pony-like creatures that have little to no emotion. They are created to mimic the form of ponies, but can use special powers as well through a variety of mediums.
When Luna returned from the moon with the real night, I destroyed the fake one, removing all the powers of all the contractors remaining. But now, a new Gate has appeared, and this time, it is the exact opposite of the first one. This one is known as Hell's Gate. It appeared over the Everfree Forest and some areas around it. It killed everything inside. It also took away Luna somehow, banishing her to the Moon again, as you may be able to tell by the Moon's appearance. By taking away Luna, it too away the night sky, and again, I had to create another one, making new contractors.
Judging by your letter, you are now a contractor. You have a special power that will come naturally to use, but you will have to pay a price to use it. Your conventional unicorn magic will not be affected.
Since Luna is in the Moon again, the military thinks I did it. You and I know that only the Elements of Harmony, and apparently Hell's Gate, have the ability to do that. I overheard them scheduling a meeting to plot against me. Twilight, I don't think I have much more time as Princess. They're going to get propaganda out, and everypony is going to hate me and my allies, which includes you and your friends. They will revolt and may gain power. You must fight for what's right. Stop this meeting. It's in a tent near the border of Hell's Gate. But don't let them know this is you. Use a costume that disguises you completely. Protect yourself. Use your contractor powers if you have to.
Help me Twilight Sparkle, you're my only hope."